Apple is likely to ship Power Mac G5 desktops based on dual-core IBM PowerPC processors, perhaps by the end of the month.

So claims Think Secret, citing unnamed sources who said the update will come earlier than planned because of allegedly weak demand for the latest single-core systems.

Apple last updated the Power Mac G5 line in April, bumping the top-end two-processor 2.5GHz model to 2.7GHz. Two months later, CEO Steve Jobs announced the transition to Intel processors, just ahead of IBM's formal announcement of the much-rumoured dual-core PowerPC 970MP.

It's the 970MP that will drive the new Power Mac line-up, the sources claim. While the part is not expected to clock above 2.7GHz, by equipping each two-processor machine with four processing cores instead of two, Mac users should see a hefty performance increase.

Apple Expo Paris takes place next week, and despite the company's no-show for a keynote, it's suggested that it may use the exhibition to give the 970MP-based Power Macs their first public appearance.

The sources also claimed Apple's PowerBook line will not now be updated before January 2006. ®